Nik Collection FOR FREE!

Murfy · 03-24-2016, 05:39 PM - **1 Like**

I am glad my procrastination and inability to make a decision finally paid off! I was trying to decide between this and Macphun software, so, now that this is free, Nik software it is! I am going to guess they will abandon the software after this, but this is pretty great deal anyway.

Next I am hoping next Epson will decide to drop support for their slide and film scanners and starting giving those away for free....

**jpzk** · 03-24-2016, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by boriscleto

~~You should be able to remove them with the Plug-in Manager.~~ Or not. You probably have to uninstall the whole package.

Got it, thanks !

As I said ... just in case.
I'll give it a quick go again ... any idea where to look for "real help" regarding "control points" in dfine ?

---------- Post added 03-24-16 at 09:10 PM ----------

Originally posted by LensBeginner

the control point system is really fantastic

Just asked about that earlier in a previous post: ... anything "visual help" to learn how to work with those ?
Thanks.

**BigMackCam** · 03-24-2016, 06:22 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

Got it, thanks !

As I said ... just in case.
I'll give it a quick go again ... any idea where to look for "real help" regarding "control points" in dfine ?

---------- Post added 03-24-16 at 09:10 PM ----------

Just asked about that earlier in a previous post: ... anything "visual help" to learn how to work with those ?
Thanks.

JP - the best thing to do is search for the tutorials on YouTube. I did, and they're good

**jpzk** · 03-24-2016, 07:02 PM

Originally posted by BigMackCam

JP - the best thing to do is search for the tutorials on YouTube. I did, and they're good

Thanks !!

I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points!
JP

mee · 03-24-2016, 07:47 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

Thanks !!

I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points!

They're essentially setting masks behind the scenes. Rather powerful if you get to understand what is happening.. It is useful (in my experiences) of setting different amounts of processing to the clouds/sky vs the ground. Alt clicking and then dragging on one point/node will duplicate it iirc. and there is another key to show a quick mask view also iirc.

I'm not even sure if most of the Topaz plugins meet the Nik comparison tools (maybe short of the NR plugin). Very powerful collection here if you're willing to learn and understand how to make use of them.

LensBeginner · 03-25-2016, 02:00 AM

Originally posted by jpzk

Thanks !!

I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points!
JP

Sorry I missed your question... yeah what he said, YouTube

It's a very fast and effective way to apply, say, NR, in a picture where it is only needed in the shadows because that's the only thing that has been pushed (thus having more noise)... you select a point and a rough range of application and it does the rest: you can check what the effect is been applied to by selecting a visualization method, which shows you sort of a B/W layer mask.

**todd** · 03-25-2016, 02:13 AM

Had been thinking for a long time that this was coming, thanks to how the development went dead after google bought them... Too bad but at least we can keep using it until it breaks. For anybody out there who doesn't know this, you can also use these apps in Gimp, using the 'shellout' plugin. (That's how I access them...)

**beachgardener** · 03-25-2016, 02:54 AM

Originally posted by todd

For anybody out there who doesn't know this, you can also use these apps in Gimp, using the 'shellout' plugin.

How does one implement that gimp plugin with nik collection please?

http://bernhardhuber.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/using-niksoftware-in-gimp.html

k22 · 03-25-2016, 04:44 AM

Originally posted by beachgardener

How does one implement that gimp plugin with nik collection please?

Bernhard Huber: Using NikSoftware in GIMP

On Windows follow the directions to edit shellout.py so that it has correct paths for the Nik apps. On a Mac I'm lost. But can be used as standalone apps.

clockworkrat · 03-25-2016, 04:54 AM

Hang on, Nik only works on jpeg?

**BigMackCam** · 03-25-2016, 04:58 AM

Originally posted by clockworkrat

Hang on, Nik only works on jpeg?

No, it works on TIFF too. So you bring your image into Lightroom or Photoshop, then when you "Edit In", it creates a TIFF copy (by default) for the Nik module to work on. If you're processing multiple images using HDR Efex Pro 2, you create your TIFF copies first then load those into the software.

Given that you're flattening the image by converting to TIFF, it's best to carry out your basic image development - exposure, contrast, shadow / highlight recovery - first, in Lightroom or CameraRaw.

clockworkrat · 03-25-2016, 05:03 AM

Hmph, well I don't have any Adobe software.

**BigMackCam** · 03-25-2016, 05:07 AM

Originally posted by clockworkrat

Hmph, well I don't have any Adobe software.

It may be possible to use other software that supports Photoshop plug-ins - I think GIMP might?

You can still use HDR Efex Pro 2 as this is a stand-alone application. It's well worth having.

EDIT: Hold that thought for a second, I just had a look in the directory for Analog Efex Pro and notice there is an executable which, if I run it, allows me to load and save images directly... so maybe these modules can all be used stand-alone. I'll test later and let you know.

photolady95 · 03-25-2016, 05:12 AM

I downloaded the software yesterday and have been reading this thread since then. I just read the post by Mike and see it doesn't work with RAW files? Not good cause I don't shoot jpeg.

mee · 03-25-2016, 05:26 AM

Originally posted by photolady95

I downloaded the software yesterday and have been reading this thread since then. I just read the post by Mike and see it doesn't work with RAW files? Not good cause I don't shoot jpeg.

I only use it with RAW files as my base. In Lightroom, it converts my DNG to a TIFF then processes that. Actually, the power of this plugin suite is with a RAW image file as base.

03-25-2016, 05:07 AM	#43
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,682	Originally posted by clockworkrat Hmph, well I don't have any Adobe software. It may be possible to use other software that supports Photoshop plug-ins - I think GIMP might? You can still use HDR Efex Pro 2 as this is a stand-alone application. It's well worth having. EDIT: Hold that thought for a second, I just had a look in the directory for Analog Efex Pro and notice there is an executable which, if I run it, allows me to load and save images directly... so maybe these modules can all be used stand-alone. I'll test later and let you know. Last edited by BigMackCam; 03-25-2016 at 05:13 AM.

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03-24-2016, 05:39 PM - 1 Like	#31
Murfy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2014 Photos: Gallery Posts: 803	I am glad my procrastination and inability to make a decision finally paid off! I was trying to decide between this and Macphun software, so, now that this is free, Nik software it is! I am going to guess they will abandon the software after this, but this is pretty great deal anyway. Next I am hoping next Epson will decide to drop support for their slide and film scanners and starting giving those away for free....

03-24-2016, 06:07 PM	#32
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by boriscleto ~~You should be able to remove them with the Plug-in Manager.~~ Or not. You probably have to uninstall the whole package. Got it, thanks ! As I said ... just in case. I'll give it a quick go again ... any idea where to look for "real help" regarding "control points" in dfine ? ---------- Post added 03-24-16 at 09:10 PM ---------- Originally posted by LensBeginner the control point system is really fantastic Just asked about that earlier in a previous post: ... anything "visual help" to learn how to work with those ? Thanks.

03-24-2016, 06:22 PM	#33
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,682	Originally posted by jpzk Got it, thanks ! As I said ... just in case. I'll give it a quick go again ... any idea where to look for "real help" regarding "control points" in dfine ? ---------- Post added 03-24-16 at 09:10 PM ---------- Just asked about that earlier in a previous post: ... anything "visual help" to learn how to work with those ? Thanks. JP - the best thing to do is search for the tutorials on YouTube. I did, and they're good

03-24-2016, 07:02 PM	#34
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by BigMackCam JP - the best thing to do is search for the tutorials on YouTube. I did, and they're good Thanks !! I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points! JP

03-24-2016, 07:47 PM	#35
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by jpzk Thanks !! I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points! They're essentially setting masks behind the scenes. Rather powerful if you get to understand what is happening.. It is useful (in my experiences) of setting different amounts of processing to the clouds/sky vs the ground. Alt clicking and then dragging on one point/node will duplicate it iirc. and there is another key to show a quick mask view also iirc. I'm not even sure if most of the Topaz plugins meet the Nik comparison tools (maybe short of the NR plugin). Very powerful collection here if you're willing to learn and understand how to make use of them.

03-25-2016, 02:00 AM	#36
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by jpzk Thanks !! I did and found a couple which may help, especially for those very special control points! JP Sorry I missed your question... yeah what he said, YouTube It's a very fast and effective way to apply, say, NR, in a picture where it is only needed in the shadows because that's the only thing that has been pushed (thus having more noise)... you select a point and a rough range of application and it does the rest: you can check what the effect is been applied to by selecting a visualization method, which shows you sort of a B/W layer mask.

03-25-2016, 02:13 AM	#37
todd Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,799	Had been thinking for a long time that this was coming, thanks to how the development went dead after google bought them... Too bad but at least we can keep using it until it breaks. For anybody out there who doesn't know this, you can also use these apps in Gimp, using the 'shellout' plugin. (That's how I access them...)

03-25-2016, 02:54 AM	#38
beachgardener Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,842	Originally posted by todd For anybody out there who doesn't know this, you can also use these apps in Gimp, using the 'shellout' plugin. How does one implement that gimp plugin with nik collection please? http://bernhardhuber.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/using-niksoftware-in-gimp.html

03-25-2016, 04:44 AM	#39
k22 Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 153	Originally posted by beachgardener How does one implement that gimp plugin with nik collection please? Bernhard Huber: Using NikSoftware in GIMP On Windows follow the directions to edit shellout.py so that it has correct paths for the Nik apps. On a Mac I'm lost. But can be used as standalone apps.

03-25-2016, 04:54 AM	#40
clockworkrat Veteran Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Black Isle, Scotland Posts: 405	Hang on, Nik only works on jpeg?

03-25-2016, 04:58 AM	#41
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,682	Originally posted by clockworkrat Hang on, Nik only works on jpeg? No, it works on TIFF too. So you bring your image into Lightroom or Photoshop, then when you "Edit In", it creates a TIFF copy (by default) for the Nik module to work on. If you're processing multiple images using HDR Efex Pro 2, you create your TIFF copies first then load those into the software. Given that you're flattening the image by converting to TIFF, it's best to carry out your basic image development - exposure, contrast, shadow / highlight recovery - first, in Lightroom or CameraRaw.

03-25-2016, 05:03 AM	#42
clockworkrat Veteran Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Black Isle, Scotland Posts: 405	Hmph, well I don't have any Adobe software.

03-25-2016, 05:12 AM	#44
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	I downloaded the software yesterday and have been reading this thread since then. I just read the post by Mike and see it doesn't work with RAW files? Not good cause I don't shoot jpeg.

03-25-2016, 05:26 AM	#45
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by photolady95 I downloaded the software yesterday and have been reading this thread since then. I just read the post by Mike and see it doesn't work with RAW files? Not good cause I don't shoot jpeg. I only use it with RAW files as my base. In Lightroom, it converts my DNG to a TIFF then processes that. Actually, the power of this plugin suite is with a RAW image file as base.